Surveillance by Design: Why Mandatory Geotracking in Computer Chips Threatens Privacy, Safety, and Human Rights

U.S. lawmakers have introduced the Chip Security Act, a bipartisan bill that would force high-end AI chips and GPUs-including gaming cards like Nvidia’s RTX 4090-to have built-in geotracking. The goal: prevent unauthorized foreign use, especially in China, by letting the Commerce Department verify chip locations and track diversions or tampering. The sweeping measure covers a wide range of advanced processors and would require companies like AMD, Intel, and Nvidia to redesign products within six months. Critics warn it will raise costs, delay launches, and create new privacy and security concerns, while experts question whether it can truly stop determined bad actors from circumventing controls.

Why Geotracking in Computing Equipment Threatens Human Rights, Privacy, and Security

As a human rights journalist, I urge legislators and the public to recognize the grave risks posed by mandating geotracking technology in high-performance computing equipment. The proposed U.S. bill would require manufacturers of advanced processors and graphics cards to embed location-tracking features, purportedly to prevent unauthorized foreign access. However, this measure is not only a misguided approach to national security-it is a direct threat to privacy, civil liberties, and the safety of vulnerable populations2 14 19.

1. Endangering the Persecuted and the Vulnerable

For those wrongly persecuted for political reasons, anti-corruption activism, or dissent, access to untraceable computing equipment is a lifeline. Embedding geotracking in chipsets would allow governments-or any entity that gains access to the registry-to monitor the physical location of devices, and by extension, their users. This could expose activists, journalists, and whistleblowers to retaliation, imprisonment, or worse, simply for possessing or using certain technology4 5 15.

Similarly, survivors of spousal or domestic abuse often rely on technology to seek help, communicate securely, or find shelter. If abusers or malicious actors exploit geotracking vulnerabilities, they could track and locate victims, undermining efforts to protect those at risk and potentially leading to life-threatening situations3 5 18.

2. Privacy Violations and Consumer Rights

Mandating location tracking in consumer hardware is a fundamental breach of privacy. Location data is highly sensitive; it reveals not just where someone is, but patterns of movement, associations, and habits. History shows that such data, once collected, is prone to misuse-by corporations, governments, and criminals alike4 9 12. Data breaches and leaks have repeatedly exposed millions of users’ locations, enabling de-anonymization, blackmail, stalking, and other abuses9 10 20.

Consumers have a right to control their personal information. Forcing geotracking into everyday devices strips away this control, violating basic principles of consumer protection and informed consent20.

3. Creating New Security Vulnerabilities

Adding geotracking hardware and software to chips increases the attack surface for hackers, cybercriminals, and hostile states. Every new feature is a potential vulnerability. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has already warned about GPS tracker vulnerabilities that allow remote exploitation and surveillance6. Embedding such features in critical computing infrastructure would invite similar risks on a much larger scale, endangering individuals, businesses, and even national infrastructure.

4. No Real National Security Benefit

The bill’s stated aim-to prevent adversaries from acquiring advanced U.S. chips-is fundamentally flawed. Export controls and tracking mechanisms can be circumvented by determined actors, especially when the global supply chain is so complex17 19. Smuggling, tampering, and spoofing are all possible, and the additional regulatory burden will fall hardest on legitimate users, manufacturers, and consumers19. Former officials have called such controls “a fool’s errand,” and there is scant evidence that geotracking would actually prevent adversaries from acquiring or using advanced chips17.

5. Economic and Innovation Costs

Mandating geotracking would force manufacturers like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel to redesign products, delay launches, and increase costs-ultimately passed on to consumers2 19. It risks undermining U.S. competitiveness, as international buyers may turn to alternatives that do not come with intrusive surveillance features19.

Call to Action: Stop the Bill, Protect Our Rights

This is not a national security issue-it is a fundamental question of privacy, safety, and human rights. Legislators must reject this bill and any similar proposals. Instead, we should focus on robust export controls, international cooperation, and technological innovation that respect civil liberties.

Contact your representatives today. Demand that they:

Oppose mandatory geotracking in computing equipment.
Uphold privacy and consumer protection as core American values.
Recognize the risks to vulnerable populations, including political dissidents and abuse survivors.
Reject wasteful, ineffective measures that create new security risks and economic burdens.

Take immediate action: Write, call, and organize. Let Congress know that surveillance chips have no place in our devices or our democracy. Stop this bill before it becomes law2 14 19.

By: Joseph William Baker®

Hashtags:
#StopSurveillanceChips, #ProtectPrivacy, #NoGeoTracking, #HumanRightsMatter, #TechForFreedom, #ConsumerRights, #EndForcedTracking, #SayNoToSurveillance, #DigitalSafety, #PrivacyFirst

Surveillance by Design: Why Mandatory Geotracking in Computer Chips Threatens Privacy, Safety, and Human Rights

Byadmin

Why Geotracking in Computing Equipment Threatens Human Rights, Privacy, and Security

1. Endangering the Persecuted and the Vulnerable

2. Privacy Violations and Consumer Rights

3. Creating New Security Vulnerabilities

4. No Real National Security Benefit

5. Economic and Innovation Costs

Call to Action: Stop the Bill, Protect Our Rights

Citations:

By admin

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